High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, and Mannerism, Essay Example

Throughout early modern art history beginning in the so-called European Renaissance, artwork has time and again reflected the political, social, economic, and cultural, contexts within which it germinated. The Renaissance began in the fourteenth century in northern Italy where the intelligentsia and social elite grew quite interested in the ideas and corpus of literature passed down from the ancient Greeks and Romans (Spielvogel 345). This burgeoning interest in Classical society fomented a tendency to eschew many of the practices and ideas evident in medieval societies. While still devoutly religious, people who lived during the Renaissance conveyed a preoccupation more with the secular, physical world than their medieval counterparts did. This new concern is encompassed by the term “humanism,” as people and artists perceived of humans as creative and powerful individuals who inhabited a dynamic world (King 120). The Renaissance began in Northern Europe during the fifteenth century and lasted for over a hundred years, evincing profound influences from the Italian Renaissance that preceded it. While influenced by the earlier Italian Renaissance, it conveys a greater concern for religious tropes and iconography. Finally, mannerism is a style of Renaissance architecture and art that germinated in Italian courts during the 1520s and lasted for nine decades. It is characterized by exaggerated forms in order to accentuate the emotionality conveyed by the figures lined therein. Mannerism developed during the Counter-Reformation, so works of art created in the mannerist style can only be understood when situated within the historical and emotional contexts of the Counter-Reformation itself. Cultural artifacts and works of art produced during the High Renaissance, Northern Renaissance, and Mannerism movements during the early modern era all reflect epochal and geographical idiosyncrasies and socio-cultural developments despite the diversity of artistic and design principles deployed in each.

Sculpted or painted portraits during the early Renaissance facilitated efforts made by important and wealthy individuals to declare their importance as well as their domain. The fascination for human individualism vis-a-vis popular modes of art evident in ancient Greek and Roman societies is revived during the early Renaissance, which the medal of Isabella d’Este by Giancristoforo Roman evinces. This cultural artifact is a luxury gold cast of a medal that Isabella d’Este, the daughter of the ruler of the Italian city-state called Ferrara and wife of the ruler Mantua, presented as a gift to the artists whom she favored. It exhibits several Mantuan court culture and Renaissance traits. D’Este grew up in an artistically-minded court of Ferrara and continued to pursue her artistic interests after her marriage to Francesco Gonzaga. She was a fervent collector of both classical antiquities and works of art by the leading contemporary painters and sculptors of Italy. The sculptor and courtier Giovanni Cristoforo Romano often acted as her agent in acquired objects she desire. On this coin, d’Este is placed in an ornately decorated, elaborate frame on which she has her name inscribed to assert her ownership of the coin and thus power (Cole 161). The size of her portrait, depicted in profile, and centrality of it on the coin further underscore this sentiment. Thus, this coin reflects several Burchkardian Renaissance characteristics such as individualism, humanism, and the state being a work of art. In order to be recognized as someone great, Isabella d’Este makes sure that people recognize her as the figure on the coin, which is why her name is emblazoned on the coin in addition to the portrait. Humanist trends are also evident through the use of profile in her portrait, which mimics coins created in ancient Rome. Powerful, famous Roman leaders such as Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great had their portraits done in profile, suggesting that d’Este harkened back to ancient artistic conventions in order to bestow a sense of power and greatness upon herself. The progenitor essentially reworked images found on coins depicting Roman empowers in order to focus her abilities as a peace-keeping ruler during times when her mercenary husband was absent from the court. Thus, she self-advertises herself in a certain manner intended on galvanizing the support of the people in Mantua. An emphasis on individualism is therefore conveyed as the relationship between the ancient and the modern through the use of profile in order to insinuate that Isabella d’Este has currency and value as the only person depicted on this coin. This coin also exhibits the trait of the state as a work of art vis-a-vis the degree of decoration. Made with gold, enamel, diamonds and ornately decorated, this coin underscores the famous vanity of Isabella and her obsession with female standards of beauty. The rarity of the object was a driving force in commissioning such a piece because of its unique character and value. A particular need was present for these pieces of superiority, becoming more popular for self-advertisement, especially for d’Este as a woman. Women during this time period lacked public agency and autonomy because of how embedded patriarchy was in European culture and society. As such, Isabella d’Este used coins as a means of disseminating messages of power and prestige in the public sphere, which was an area that was normally closed off to women regardless of status.

While some observers reductively conclude that Renaissance art constituted a complete yet sudden fracture from the past, many pieces of art created during the Northern European Renaissance reflects that–although in subject matter and style, concerns shifted towards humanism, realism, and individualism–some medieval concerns and assumptions persisted. Jan van Eyck’s Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, a painting created in 1434 that showcases a scene of an Italian businessman living in Bruges, reflects these sentiments. Arnolfini is show standing next to his bride taking vows in a private bridal chamber. The setting of this scene suggests that a marriage contract could in the fifteenth century be legitimately forged outside of the Church. Surrounding the couple are a litany of objects that would conventionally be found in this type of room, many of which were imbued with religious significance and symbolic meaning. The lighted candle functioned as a trope of Christ radiating divine light. The convex mirror placed on the wall clearly reflects the scene taking place in the chamber, thereby serving as a reflections of the witnesses to the marriage taking place. Moreover, it insinuates that the omniscience and omnipresent nature of God is reflected. The couple has removed their shoes because they are standing on holy ground. Even though the marriage is not taking place in Church, it is unequivocal that religion remains a preoccupation of the artist in this depiction. The dog painted in the foreground symbolizes the fidelity between husband and wife. Moreover, the wife is posed in a deferential manner towards her husband, thereby reflecting traditional gender mores in which women were subjected to the power of their husbands. The wife evinces a submissive pose, while the husband dominates the composition and evinces power through his frontal pose. The deferential pose of the wife orients the attention of the viewer towards her husband as well. Thus, this painting mirrors social and cultural currents as a realistic depiction of two distinct individuals with very individualistic personalities, as their facial expressions convey. They are painted in a natural setting that is saturated with symbolic representations and discursive renderings filled with religious meaning of what marriage meant during the fifteenth century.

Mannerist artwork evinces wholly distinct characteristics aimed at capturing the emotionality of the Counter-Catholic Revolution that germinated during the early sixteenth century. El Greco’s Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple, painted around 1570, was created during the time period when the Council of Trent laid the absolute contours of the role art played in the doctrines passed during the Counter-Reformation (Shearman 45). This painting portrays biblical themes that undoubtedly affirm religious doctrines expressed by the Church. Jesus Christ is placed at the center of the scene in order to draw the viewer’s attention towards him, and he is driving out the moneylenders through physical force using a whip that he has raised over his left shoulder while balancing on one foot. Christ clearly expresses his ire that the temple has been transformed into a marketplace, and a dyad is presented through the vertical stance of Christ while the sinners are strewn in a horizontal fashion. El Greco seemingly limned the painting in an incongruous manner, limning a biblical scene inside a temple with a cityscape in the background. Moreover, the composition is clearly created in an asymmetrical manner, with visually distorted figures filling it. The artist’s choice of color enhances a sense of chaos and is quite jarring. All of these odd traits enhance the sense of disruption in that characterized the Counter Reformation. El Greco’s method of painting is highly expressive and individualistic, which the positioning, elongation and movements of the figures all suggest. Movement, the distortion of figures, the manipulation of space, the manipulation of lighting for dramatic impact, and spiritual intensity are all captured in this scintillating scene.

In this original work, the early Renaissance style was appropriated in order to draw a portrait of an individual in a realistic manner. The muscles are more taut to accentuate the realistic contours of the human body. Done in profile, this work draws on artistic conventions popularized by the ancient Greeks and Romans. The nude body, along with the mirror, are both symbols saturated with humanistic notions. More specifically, narcissism that is associated with portraiture is underscored by the mirror and the nudity of the figure

Works Cited

Cole, Alison. Age of the Italian Renaissance Courts. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. Print.

King, Margaret. The Renaissance in Europe. China: Laurence King Publishing, 2005. Print.

Shearman, John, Mannerism. United States: Penguin Books, 1967.

Spielvogel, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Comprehensive Volume. 3rd ed. Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Pub., 1997. Print.